#stewartcreeksomethings

Wow. Welcome to the new year!

Steve HardinLeave a comment

I feel like an apology is due, this is the longest absence I have taken since I started writing this blog (March 2010). Initially, I started doing it as a way to track changes on the farm. When we first moved here I had Annmarie create a website but that was not easy to upkeep. You had to actually know how to program and the updates took hours. We have multiple old pictures of the farm and can see changes and know the history of others but I wanted some other generation to know what happened. That was my initial reasoning, after 15 years I write the blog for myself. I enjoy the process and I enjoy documenting the changes. I even occasionally go back and reference the previous entries for data or dates. I am really just documenting my farm therapy sessions.

Life has been catching up to us and we had a lot of things going on at once. In the six weeks our daughter got married, I have had two visits to the ER, had a scope, and have had pneumonia twice. Annmarie closed down her parish, worked on multiple wedding dresses, got sick, and kept everything going. The energy necessary to blog has just not been there. I will catch up the last six weeks.

We sold three cows and had a new group do the slaughter/cut/wrap. They did a great job and the meat look great! They will be doing the other four this month. We just sort them the evening before and leave them in the corral for pickup the next morning. It works well for everyone.

The sheep decided to lamb during wedding prep and wedding weekend. This caused a decided lack of tracking on my part. I could search through all the text messages and get close but I decided to just publish the results:

  • Date of update- Feb 14, 2026
  • # of Lambs born – 38
  • # of ewes who have delivered babies – 23
  • # of ewes still pregnant – 4 in area, I don’t think they are all pregnant maybe 2 but they only have 30 days before we call it a bust.
  • # of single lamb births – unknown
  • # of twin lamb births – unknown
  • # of triplet lamb births – 2
  • # tagged male (weathers-neutered) lambs-unknown
  • # tagged female lambs-unknown
  • # of bummer lambs – 2
  • # of lambs who died in first two weeks – 6
  • Total # of lambs on farm -30
  • % birthing rate- 165%
  • % production rate -130%
  • % survival rate at birth – 95% (two still born, very small, we think triplets)
  • % survival rate at 2 weeks (bummers count as death as they need help and leave the farm) – 80%

We will keep the sheep separated for another month and see if any of the last four have babies. Two look like they may but who knows. We won’t be selling very many lambs this year. We will need to save most, if not all, of the female lambs as replacements to our herd. We like to be around 35 ewes and we culled very hard last year. So we will only have 27 ewes this summer that can be bred to give birth in January 2027. The following year we will have 40 if we hold everything this year. We will need to cull again so that will drop the number down to our goal. We probably just need to keep 5-7 every year so we are on a rotation.

I took a three hours and ran all of the bagged grain we had in the machine shop into edible pieces. My repair job on the first grinder, done last summer, did not work and after an hour of fighting with it I went over and got the new one. It finished the last half of the grinding in 20 minutes. I took all of the cracked grain to the barn to feed to the sheep. They get grain at least once a day. We also keep a protein lick outside for the sheep to eat on all day. They are nursing and the calories are necessary to keep them from getting so skinny.

The cows are doing great! We have five bred females (maybe) at least 3 are obviously pregnant and the other two are first time mom’s. They are not due for another 8-12 weeks. That will leave us with three calves from last year for slaughter next year. We have not sold any yet as we are waiting to see how many we will need to save for our own consumption. We are still running two cows herds, mommy/calf and eaters with the bull in Alcatraz unless he is out working.

Our bulbs that Mr Rainman and I planted on the new flower beds by the rock wall (right side only) are already growing out of the soil, some of them are 4” tall already. I messed up the left side of the rock wall and need to tear down about ten feet and put an actual string line up so the wall does not meander towards the running water. I need to move it back about 12-18”. I also need to finish the floor in the gazebo. I am going to need another 40 bags of sand to get a deep enough layer to effectively use the compactor.

If I am lucky I will be able to squeeze in a new roof on the fencing shed. Annmarie wants me to put a tarp on the back of the bee enclosure. The wind blew rain into the bee hive. I am thinking about putting up a gutter also. The chicken coop will need dug out this year along with the barn. I need to work on Alcatraz. We have a spring seep along the back fence and it is eroding out all of the dirt. I need to toss some more dirt over the fence with the tractor, to get that built up in a 30’ section of fencing. Ideally, I also need to dig out the old lamb barn. Lots of stuff to do outside.

I have started to try and grow house plants from seed. This is not going so well. I started with 96 plugs and have only managed to get 8 plants to come up. I have tried twice now with smaller mini greenhouses and have managed to get two plants to survive. I figured I better up my Christmas game for this year so I am starting early so the plants are well established. I have two grow lights, three heating pads and a set of shelves dedicated to growing new plants. Everyone has gotten my current plants for several years now so I figured it was time for some new ones.

Outside work may be my priority but I have officially been working on the downstairs bathroom for greater than 12 months. So it is now the number one priority. I have the inside trim sanded and just need to cut it to fit and install. I need to just drag out my compressor, hose and finish nailer to the front porch so I can just take a weekend to install all of the trim. I will do that once I get a good dry fit. I also need to finish installing crown molding now that the cupboard has been installed. Hopefully, I can find three full pieces to finish it.

I did manage to spend a day on the tractor moving horse poop and shuffling our compost piles. It was drizzling lightly and after I got done with the stacks we ended up getting 3/4” of rain in the next day. Disturbing the piles helps them get oxygenated and allows more water to seep down into them. Plus, the horse poop was piling up in several places.

I had to weld up new anchors for the 3 point weight last summer. The welds held but the thin sheet metal did not. I do not know why company’s do this. I will have to weld an angle iron cage to the entire outside of the sheet metal to give it the structural integrity to carry the weight. I have the entire thing filled with horseshoes, it makes a great counterweight when I am moving large bales of hay with my little tractor. I should have just made the entire thing myself but I did not think I would need to do that. I should know by now that a lot of things just don’t last anymore.

We moved the bone yard back up onto the hill as far from the animals as we can get. The boneyard by the wheat fields was bringing the coyotes down for more than just water. It takes about 45 minutes to drive up there and back with the small tractor. We have not seen any coyotes down by the house since we moved it. Unfortunately, the neighbor saw one crossing the road out of our field last week. So they are still around we just are not seeing them as much.

Wedding prep

Steve HardinLeave a comment

The progeny’s wedding is in 14 days. This realization has been thrust onto my priority list. I painted the wall in our hallway where the old bathroom door used to be the week before and now I have corralled into a wood craft project related to table decorations. Gingerman and I spent over two hours sanding and assembling table decorations. He did most of the sanding and I just did some touch up on the edges and the assembly. Milo wanted to help and the cat kept trying to get in the way. We managed to get 21 done which is more than are needed.

I spent the rest of the day using a Green Machine to clean the living room furniture. I also decided that the large circular light in the stairwell needed cleaned as it had been a couple of years. I have to take the stained glass in the upper bathroom down and then you can get up onto the wooden shelf and reach out and touch the light. I pat myself on the back every time I do this and don’t have to break out a ladder to get up to the light that is 16 feet in the air. There is a small two piece glass skirt that keeps most of the dust off of the light bulbs. This can be removed, washed and put back on. When it is removed it is easier to vacuum the light all the way down to the middle. It also lets you brush the light bulbs with a rag to remove the dust. I recommend NOT using a wet paper towel to do this as I got a solid 120V jolt to my left hand that was holding the light from turning as I used the right hand to wipe the dust off the light bulb and holder. It has been quite a while since I have shocked myself. I kept scrubbing the light and turning it until all of the dust was gone. The light looks so much better now. I stood directly below the light when I took that photo.

Cow sorting

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Last week we did actually get some needed items checked off the winter list. Mr Rainman came out and tackled the orchard. He trimmed all of the fruit trees. Not only did he trim them, he cut them way back so they can gain some limb strength. This was a much needed thing as the limbs were having a hard time carrying a full load of fruit. He also tackled the ancient apple trees and raised the limbs enough that we can drive the tractor underneath the tree!

Mr Rainman is also building up a second pile of limbs near the irrigation ditch for the quail. The quail use the limb piles as cover to protect themselves from predators. This will be the fifth pile we have created on the farm for them. We have two coveys this winter of about 80 birds each. They are healthy and fly around the houses at least once a day. Even if I cannot see them they can be heard as they are quite noisy. This took both days to get completed. The raspberries and blackberries are the last thing that needs to get trimmed this winter.

Gingerman and I went out first thing in the morning last Saturday to sort the cows. We needed to get the bull into Alcatraz and the three weanling calves off the female cows they are 6-7 months old now. It was fairly cold and I could see steam coming off the pile of manure from two years ago.

I drove the tractor and the Gingerman cycled gates. The cows associate the tractor with food so they always come running when they hear it. I opened a gate into the pasture around the old chicken coop and the cows proceeded to rush the fence into the ram pasture. This led them to spot the open gate onto the hillside so they ran up the hillside looking for a way out. I had to get down off the tractor and the Gingerman and I herded them back into the ram pasture and back out towards the gate over by Alcatraz. The horse was locked into the old lamb barn and we had both gates down to the spring closed so it was a straight shot toward the corral. The new gate/fence in the barn lot worked incredibly well and we got the cows into the front barn lot without much hassle. Once we got them into the lot it was not very hard to push them into the corral area. We managed to sort off three heifers and then the bull got stuck out by himself so we pushed him back into the horse area to wait. He needed to go to Alcatraz but with the heifers already getting sorted we need to move them first. The calves all bunched up in the area near the barn and the Gingerman was walking up behind them to get them moving when the pretty brown calf smashed his hind leg backwards to state his displeasure at being handled. The problem with this is the Gingerman was too close and caught the hoof in the left testicle. He did not hit the ground himself but it was a close call. He ended up leaning on the gate while I casually sorted the rest of the cows.

We ran the calves through the yard into the orchard. The heifers just got pushed out into field #4 to continue eating and growing their pregnant bellies.

The bull just sauntered over towards the fence to get to the heifers. The fence and the Gingerman were in his way. He kept trying to get around the Gingerman and he would just wave his head and push forward against the Gingerman. We finally got him turned, then just chased him into Alcatraz so he did not have time to think about what he was doing.

I ended up sanding all of the pine pieces for the inside trim of the bathroom. I would have rather spent the day outside. It was a sunny and clear day, absolutely beautiful. But the bathroom must progress.

Winter is here sorta

Steve HardinLeave a comment

Every year I transplant a bunch of houseplants as gifts for the staff at work. I have taken over the breeze porch as my indoor garden area. I share the space with the dog kennels which actually works well for me as I have covered the roofs of all of the kennels with plywood to make more space to put out plants! I have been cloning my basic plants for a few years so I have decided to branch out and start to grow a more diverse selection. To that end I have started to buy seeds online and have been trying to get them started. I am using a heat mat and now I have a grow light and I am still having trouble. I bought some mini greenhouse and that has netted me two plants. So far I have managed to grow four plants from seed. The tallest plants are three inches and fairly spindly. The smallest one is the size of a pea. This is a problem for me as I have taken it on as a challenge. I am up there every couple of days now nurturing them. I usually just water 1-2 times a week under normal circumstances. The wife got me a new DeWalt shelf system for Christmas, the kind of present where I ordered it and it arrives after Christmas. So I will now have two four foot wide by four feet tall three high shelf system on each side of the door. This is good as my other shelf has 50% of it covered in planting paraphernalia. I may need a four foot wide grow light for the new one but I am going to hold off and see what I can do with my little grow light.

I have almost 15 plants started for the next year. I am trying some plants that require a frequent amount of water to grow. I am putting water absorbing crystals into the soil in an attempt to get the plant to have a continuous source of water and not my normal up and down watering quantity. I also got a better quality soil and have been mixing my own batches for the type of plant I am growing. My goal is to have 35 plants ready to go in a year. I have freed a variety of Jade plant that I have had for years and just recently discovered that it was a Jade plant. So now I will be trying to get it to grow another foot tall in the next couple of years. I don’t actually know what I am doing, I just keep trying different things until something works.

Our daughter and paramour got us the perfect farm gift for Christmas, they got us a cast iron boot scraper! I put it out in the yard near the back gate so we can scrape our boots off before we go into the gravel area of the back garden. So far we have not had a chance to use it as it is now freezing most of the time but its potential usefulness cannot be diminished by its lack of participation. We have great hopes for the future.

The cows are now needing fed about every ten days. The second feeder we brought home from the neighbors is a little small for a full big bale to drop in. Mr Rainman broke open a big bale last time and forked it into the feeder with the tractor. I decided to one up man ship him and opted to try and get the bale into the feeder from the top. The problem is the bale is at the top weight capacity of the Kubota tractor. I got the bale directly next to the feeder head on and then dropped the three point box of horseshoes onto the ground then I started to make the front end lift of the tractor to bounce. Every time the weight bounced upwards I got the bale a few inches higher. I kept doing this until I was level with the top of the feeder and was able to dump it inside the old feeder. I had three of the tractor tires on the ground by the time I dumped the bale. If the bale had weighed another 20# I don’t believe I could have done it for fear of tipping the tractor forward. I made sure to take a picture so that prowess with the little Kubota could be immortalized.

Annmarie had me go out and swap out bee food. We are feeding concentrated sugar syrup to supplement the honey. We would like to harvest a bunch of honey in the spring. It was warm enough for the bees to move around and even fly out of the hive box. They are still pretty dang calm when it is this cold outside.

The table saw is now covered on the old house back porch and is ready to ride out the winter weather. I have covered the grain cracker on the end of the porch with the same tarp. I still need to crack more grain. I have been saying this for the last six weeks but Monday night I used up the very last bit of cracked grain and will need to fill the feeders in a couple of days, my procrastination days are about to end.

I have been looking at various spray on insulation foams for the inside of the old house. I am only going to spray it on two walls in the old house for my craft room. What I really need to do is find an old external door with intact seals and a frame to install inside and on the back door. I don’t want to spend a fortune on doors and I need two to finish this space. But I am not installing door or windows until I lift the room up a couple more inches on the outer wall.

Bathroom day 51

Steve HardinLeave a comment

I have been informed that there are a mere 24 days left until company arrives for the wedding! This does sorta put things in perspective. It is only day 51 of the remodel, even though it is week 45. At this rate I will be able to stay ahead of the weeks passed by the number of days worked on the project! Not a great accomplishment but it is something. I have been working on the dreaded Sheetrock. Again, there are just a few things that I don’t care for and Sheetrock work is one of them. I tried something different this time. I was super careful to scrape really well with the next size up drywall scraper/knife. When I was close to finishing I did a wet sand. I had never tried it before, it did leave some slight grooves from softening things up too much it was super easy to repair once it all dried up.

I shot texture on the wall this morning and the main section looks good. It will be ready for primer tomorrow. I will have to dig around in the closets to see if we have any leftover paint. I still need to put some more texture on the wall opposite the closet. I ran out of texture in the can.

I have been working on getting the inside trim dialed in this weekend. I had to tear custom width oak for the top and bottom of the cabinet. I spent almost 90 minutes just sanding those pieces then dry fitting them. This required multiple trips to the saw to get the length right. I installed the top two and the bottom side one. The front needs a nail gun but I only have the air finish nailers and I want to wait to set that up until I have all of the trim pieces cut and dry fitted.

I put a couple of 2×2 at the top of the door to work as spacers so I can nail the trim to them. The trim needed to be lower to cover the hanger hardware. My goal is to hide everything. I am working in pine on the inside of the door as that is what I used on the walls. The outside will be done in the same trim as all the rest of the interior. I was at the hardware store for over 30 minutes just digging through pine boards to find some I could use as trim, too many knots, cracks, chips on edges on a large portion of the boards. I needed one board 8” wide and 7’ tall. I ended up buying a 12 foot section of 1×10” and cut the middle out of it to get a clean piece. Gingerman kept going out in the morning with me to help me tear them down then he went off to do his own chores. It is hard to tear a board down by yourself and make it straight. If I owned some expensive stuff I could do that but my $100 table saw requires two people to carry it into the yard and two to guide the board through the saw.

I have all of the boards ripped and now they need sanded. But I spent about four hours this weekend sanding and wanted to make some progress on the oak cabinet trim before working on the door opening. I have three more oak cross pieces to sand, cut, fit and install. Once that is done then we can talk about how large and how many doors I will need to cut.

I spent almost two hours today trying to find the striker plate for the sliding door. I even went so far as to clean up the old house, cleaned up the mud room and even took all the tools and junk piled up in the laundry room but I did not find that striker plate! I am sure I put it somewhere “safe” I just cannot remember where. Hopefully, I can find it in the next week. It can wait as it only means the bathroom door cannot be locked. On a plus side I did find all the cabinet hinges, knobs and magnetic closures! I would have had to hunt those down eventually. I kept finding needed stuff, I even found the instructions for installing the striker plate, one would think I would have found the actual item.